There she was. That gorgeous little English “bird” I’d fallen for several years earlier. The one I dreamed of introducing to mom, and then whisking off to Nashville so I could show her off to hundreds of my closest friends. (Ok,ok, four closest friends and a few people I really didn’t particularly have feelings for one way or the other.) Yes, it was the meticulously restored black 1930 MG M type Midget with the red leather seats that I came sooooooo close to buying for $30,000 at Hershey, had it not been for the $30,000. It was the car that whetted my appetite to learn about, drive, work on, drive, show off, drive pamper and drive pre-war MMM MG’s (cars built between 1929-1936). So whetted (don’t you love the word “whetted”) was my appetite that I ended up
later actually acquiring a MMM car- a ‘33 L2 Magna (6 cyl. overhead cam), a little red and black beauty with cycle fenders and racing pedigree and restored the British way (“leave those 14 layers of paint on the bloody frame-keeps it from falling apart”) by Nigel Dawes and imported in the late ‘80’s by the Connecticut Dragone Brothers. (No familia connections, pronounced either Drag-own or Drag-won take your pick). Of course, to get the L2 I had to trade off everything on wheels in the garage. (What they did with the ‘78 Toro mower I’ll never know), pay some cash (earned by giving blood), and sign a waiver on my 4th and 5th born children (I fooled ‘em there and, after minor
discomfort, stopped after #3).
 I did learn a lot, and continue to do so, and I must have polished and pampered this nevertheless, “well driven” MG fairly decently, as the car was invited to the prestigious Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance this year as part of the “Peter Helck Circle of Twelve” race car circle. Most of the cars in the race circle were MG’s, since MG was the “featured marque” this year, and all were outstanding examples of their model. Among them were a ‘34 KE, a “works” ‘34 NE, a ‘49 Lester and a ‘56 A, all participants in the Meadow Brook historic races the day before at the Waterford Hills SCCA track.
 Although my L2 did do parade laps at speed around this track, and despite the L2’s having won Brooklands and Poole trials in the ‘30’s and having come in fourth at the ‘34 LeMans (driven by Doreen Evans) I choose not to endanger life or limb, or myself either, by dashing around the track
relentlessly chased by Lotuses (Loti?), Ferraris, Jaguars and Porsches. Besides, the L2 presents the rather unfair advantage of being able, albeit involuntarily, to deposit James Bond-esque oil slicks behind it. Of course, I have perfected the art of downshifting a non-synchro “crash box” around tight corners, while braking at the same time. In fact, I can “crash” it nearly every time!
 Sunday Aug. 4th. The Concours d’Elegance. Arguably, along with Pebble Beach, the coolest auto jumble in the western 50. Two circles of MG’s plus the racing circle- a total of 24 of the primo-est MG’s this side of Indianapolis, plus the special display of EX 181 Land Speed Record car,
shipped from England for the occasion. All were outstanding in their own way, the two Tickford coupes, the ’39 TB, ‘55 TF, ‘37 TA “Cream Cracker”, ‘35 TB belonging to Tom Metcalf, (my 12 year old son’s fave) and the gargantuan (by MG standards) ‘37 SA Charlesworth tourer. A few, including my L2, won blue ribbons and bronze lions for, in the words of the judges, “reflecting
perfection in design and elegance”. After we honorees drove through the admiring crowd of about 75,000 (ok, maybe 2,500) and being interviewed about our motorized love objects, we all went back to our respective circles for one last look around. And the was the little M type Midget with red leather and vinyl covered wood body just smiling that sort of elongated, nose-in-the- air English schoolgirl smile at me and saying “I knew I could get you to spend every last nickel you have”.